New Hammer Museum series to explore 'Invisible Man' novel via weekly discussions
In The Hammer Museum’s new program series, “Revisiting Ralph Ellison’s ‘Invisible Man,'” attendees have the opportunity to discuss Ellison’s classic novel through group discussions and a final panel with guest speakers. The series will run every Tuesday until May 18, 2021.
"It’s never too late to reread an old classic.
Vaibhavi Patankar/Daily Bruin The Hammer Museum’s new program series, “Revisiting Ralph Ellison’s ‘Invisible Man,'” begins Tuesday and runs every Tuesday until May 18. Through group discussions and a final panel with guest speakers, attendees have the opportunity to discuss Ellison’s classic novel “Invisible Man” with UCLA faculty, including English professors Mona Simpson and Adam Bradley. Simpson, who will be a moderator and panelist for the upcoming series, said it was inspired by author Yiyun Li’s virtual book club Tolstoy Together, which started at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(Tolstoy Together) was a really lovely thing,” Simpson said. “(It was) really fun and successful because you have all these people reading this great book together, so I wanted to do that – I wanted (us) to read a great book together.”
Simpson was originally the host and organizer of “Some Favorite Writers,” a Hammer Museum series inviting contemporary authors to read and discuss their work. But because the live readings weren’t as successful over Zoom, Simpson said she decided to shift to a program focused on discussing classic literature instead – namely Ellison’s “Invisible Man.”
Although Simpson’s past series typically invited authors to answer guests’ questions, the new program will deviate from the typical format. For each meeting, discussion leaders will have a set of prepared questions pertaining to that week’s topic, but the conversation will be open for anyone to contribute, she said. The first three sessions focus on specific themes in “Invisible Man” like politics, identity and race, ending with a panel on the novel’s lasting resonance."— Breanna Diaz, Apr. 23, 2021
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Daily Bruin website.
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